


Shield Me From This Downpour

by theonlyHANforme



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, im not sure where this is going yet, more tags to come as i write
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2019-11-01 22:04:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17875685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theonlyHANforme/pseuds/theonlyHANforme
Summary: Minho sat down on the steps in front of the studio. If he had to wait out the rain, he might as well get comfortable.After waiting for a while, Minho realised the shadow surrounding him had gotten bigger. Looking up, he saw that someone was holding an umbrella over him. Said someone was looking down expectedly, arm extended in an offer to help stand.The entrance’s single light was right behind the stranger’s head from Minho’s view. His hair already seemed to be covering his eyes, but the resulting glare and shadow combo his the rest of his face as well. Yet Minho accepted his hand anyway. This was better than sitting on the steps for God knows how long."Thanks for rescuing me from getting stranded here.""No worries, I've been there before.""My name's Minho, by the way.""I'm Jisung."





	1. chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Updates would be every Thursday or Friday at best, but sporadic at worst. This work is mostly mine but I like to take inspiration from books/tv shows/movies/dramas. It is usually in the jokes or barely even noticeable. Feel free to comment if you think you can spot the reference!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO!!! I made kinda major changes to this chapter from when I originally posted it. Mostly in the style of writing, and the structure too. Also, the whole second part of the chapter that I left out initially is finally added. Please re-read this chapter if you read it before 28 Feb 2019. I'll be changing the publish date too, as this is technically the proper start to the story.

Minho pushed his legs to run faster, ignoring the soreness and stiffness in them. He had overslept that morning, forced to rush if he were to make it to class on time. Everyone was familiar with how forgiving lecturers were to latecomers, the answer was not at all. Once the doors were closed nobody was allowed to enter, unless under a special circumstance.

That said, his lecturer was already closing the doors. Minho made a final dash for it and managed to squeeze himself through just before the doors were properly shut. He received a disapproving look from his lecturer - a clear warning - and he returned her a curt smile before making his way to his seat. When he got there, he all but collapsed into it. He hadn’t even bothered to remove his bag from his shoulder beforehand.

From the seat from his right,  Chan chuckled. This earned him a glare from the younger. Minho took out his things and got ready to blindly take notes. Not that it really mattered. Chan recorded all his lessons, Minho knew he was free to ask for a copy of it.

“So what made you so difficult to wake up this morning?” Chan asked, starting up his recording device as he did so. “Felix told us he spent a solid five minutes banging on your door since it was locked. He was almost late to class himself.”

“Got caught in the rain again last night as I was leaving the studio. Was too lazy to shower so I slept naked.”

Chan shook his head upon hearing Minho’s response. It only started raining after 10 pm the night before. Probably continued well into the morning too, if the puddles still found around their campus were to attest to anything. Knowing Minho, the time was likely closer to sunrise than to sunset when he finally left the studio.

“You do realise it’s raining season right, how many more times do you need to get caught in the rain for you to remember that? Or at least bring an umbrella with you next time,” Chan advised, genuinely worried for Minho.

“You expect too much of him. He’s so thick-headed, once he focuses on something he’s barely able to process anything else,” chimed Changbin, who sat in front of the two of them. He turned around to join in on their conversation, just enough to push what was considered as ‘facing forward’. Minho smacked his shoulder for that statement and quickly returned to his mindless note-taking. He ignored Changbin’s annoyed whine but smirked to himself nonetheless.

Changbin was quite right though. Not about Minho being thick-headed, but about how he was only able to focus on one major thing at a time. There was nothing that could tear away that focus either. Which was why he chose to major in Dance in the first place. Besides, the studio had no windows or clocks on the wall. How was he supposed to keep track of the time or the weather?

His showcase was coming up soon, and he was to present a contemporary piece. Unlike many others in his major, he wasn’t trained in the style. He wasn’t particularly comfortable with it either, that’s why he had to work even harder so it came out perfect.

Whatever notes Minho had been taking were long forgotten. He was now doodling various dance moves he planned to incorporate in his performance. The stick figures he drew weren’t exactly detailed, but it was enough as long as he could understand it.

Out of nowhere, a hand started to wave around in front of his face.

“Hey, Earth to Minho. Your phone is buzzing like crazy. Might be Felix checking in on you,” said Chan, to whom the hand was attached to. Now that he wasn’t focused on drawing, Minho could hear his phone vibrating from inside his bag. Taking it out, he saw that Chan was right. He had over twenty messages from his roommate, the latest one was just a row of exclamation marks. Minho looked up to make sure their lecturer wouldn’t notice him on his phone before opening the messages.

<< _Felix_   _12:47_  
r  u awake yet  
hellooooooo  
my class just ended, heading back to the dorm  
i  swear if ure still in bed  
if  ur door is still locked  
i’ll assume ure still asleep  
i will not hesitate to knock it down  
i know taekwondo, i could do it  
YAH  
HYUNG ANSWER ME  
MINHO-HYUNG  
LEE  
MINHO  
HYUNG  
oh wow i guess u were able to wake up  
good job  
ur door is wide open  
must’ve been rushing this morning huh  
hope ure paying attention in class  
YOU LEFT YOUR SOGGY CLOTHES ON THE FLOOR  
THAT’S GROSS  
u could have at least put them in the hamper  
!!!!!!!!!

 _Minho_   _13:14_ >>  
It slipped my mind sorryy  
Got back late and was in a rush this morning  
And yes I was paying attention until you started messaging me

<<  _Felix 13:15_  
LIES  
Chan-hyung said u were doodling

Minho looked up to glare at Chan, who was slipping his phone into his pocket while looking ahead innocently. He was about to reply to Felix again when a loud knocking caught his attention. He turned to see where it came from, only to see their lecturer staring straight at him with her fist against the board. Other students were looking at him too, some were annoyed at the interruption to the lesson.

Embarrassed, Minho raised his hand in apology and even managed a weak smile. In an attempt to pay attention this time, the snickers clearly coming from Chan were ignored. So was the look Changbin gave him as he turned around.

It wasn’t long before Minho found himself drawing again. He gave up on trying to pay attention and just focused completely on his drawing. He was already starting to feel drowsy, no one else but himself to blame for that. And if he had to choose, he’d rather get caught drawing in class than falling asleep.

The time was nearing 2 pm, just about half an hour more until the lecture ended. Minho sighed.

He had a feeling it would be a long day.

 

Lunch was pretty uneventful that day. Minho, Chan and Changbin met up with Felix at the usual cafe they go to. They were able to spend a whole hour together - with half the conversation being Felix complaining about Minho’s clothes - before Changbin had to leave for his next lesson. Felix followed shortly after, leaving Chan and Minho at the table. The two of them fell into a comfortable silence, with Chan studying his music and Minho resuming his drawing. Though it wasn’t long before Chan broke the silence.

“Want to head over to the studio now?” he asked while packing up his work. Seeing that his food was all gone and his drink was getting there, Minho quickly finished off the rest of his drink before nodding and packed up his things too.

They were lucky, their university had a whole building dedicated to various different types of studios that the students were free to use. There really was something for all the different majors. It may not be an arts university, but it sure had the kind of facilities you’d expect at one.

Minho bid Chan goodbye once they got there, making his way to one of the empty dance studios as Chan headed upstairs to the other studios. Since he was alone, he went for one of the smaller studios available. The first thing he did was to hook up his phone to the sound system, then he changed into his dance clothes before gearing up to practice.

Taking out his drawings, Minho stuck them onto the mirror with some tape and studied them. He loosely ran through the choreography in his head, trying to figure out exactly how to add the moves in. Slowly but surely, he tried the moves out first, making sure he could actually do them. Then he started up the music, and just went with whatever his body felt was right. He could worry about the technique later.

Unfortunately, nothing felt right. Minho stared at the ceiling as he laid on the studio floor. He was sweating all over and his body was starting to ache already. Yet all of it was numb to Minho, his mind racing to find a way to fix his performance. When it became clear to him that he had no idea how to incorporate the moves, he decided to work on the choreography he already had. It seemed like a good idea until Minho started to see problems with it that he hadn’t before. Then he gave up.

With a heavy sigh, Minho got up to check his phone. There was a message from Chan, reminding him to not stay at the studio for too late again. It was almost midnight, though it was still quite late it was earlier than the time Minho would usually leave. So he called it a night and left the studio.

The building was dark and quiet, allowing Minho to hear that it was raining outside. A low groan came out of him at the thought of having to run through it for a second night. He had to remember to clear his clothes this time, or he’d never hear the end of it from Felix. At least he had a hat with his this time so the rain won’t hit him in the face.

Once he walked out the entrance, it was clear that running wasn’t an option. The rain was so heavy practically nothing was visible other than the first few metres from where Minho stood. The only light he could see was the one above him at the entrance, even though the path leading to the dorm buildings were lined with streetlamps. He was grateful for the shelter above the entrance and its steps, even if it didn’t help block the drops of rain that ricochetted off the ground. Minho considered his options, he could call for someone to get him or wait for the rain to subside. He felt that his friends might not appreciate him making them walk through the rain, he knows he wouldn’t, and chose the second option.

Minho sat down on the steps in front of the building. If he had to wait out the rain he might as well get as comfortable as possible. Fatigue started to settle on him, from both the uncomfortable sleep he had that morning and the long hours of practice. Thoughts of his practice came up, frustration building within him. He pushed them away for now and forced himself to stare down at his shadow, allowing the sound of the rain to surround him.

After waiting for a while, he realised the shadow surrounding him had gotten bigger. Looking up, Minho saw that someone was holding an umbrella over him. Said someone was also looking down expectedly, arm extended in an offer to help him stand.

The entrance’s single light was right behind the stranger’s head from Minho’s view. His hair already seemed to be covering his eyes, but the resulting glare and shadow combo his the rest of his face as well. Yet Minho accepted his hand anyway. This was better than sitting on the steps for God knows how long.

“Thanks for rescuing me from getting stranded here,” Minho joked, his tone hopefully expressing how thankful he was. Now that he was standing, he was slightly taller than the stranger who was now looking up at him instead of down. He had a face mask on but Minho could tell he was smiling based on how his eyes squinted slightly.

“No worries, I’ve been there before,” he replied, laughing softly. He let go of Minho’s arm -  hadn’t noticed he was still holding on to it - and took off his mask.

_He’s cute._

“My name’s Minho, by the way.” They started to make their way to the dorms, walking slowly as there was barely any light around them.

“I’m Jisung.” He pushed his hair back but it fell back to the same place. “So what kept you at the studio building until so late, Minho?”

“I could ask you the same question, Jisung,” he teased. Jisung shot him an amused look.

“Believe it or not, this isn’t the latest I’ve left. You can usually find me still here when the sun rises.”

At that admission, Jisung’s eyes widened. Minho was aware that his habit sounded crazy to others. It was something he picked up from his mentor a long time ago, and since most of his lessons start close to noon it never really caused him any issues. Until that morning, the lecture was usually held in the evening but their lecturer changed the time for just that morning.

“And Seungmin says that I’m bad, you’re worse than me,” muttered Jisung. Bemused, Minho raised an eyebrow at him. Jisung continued on about how his roommate always complained about him getting back at one or two in the morning and never getting enough sleep and here Minho was saying he stays at the studio until it’s light out like a crazy person who never sleeps.

“Are you some kind of reverse vampire? Instead of not being able to go out in the sun you can’t go out when it’s dark,” Jisung questioned. His face showed no sign of joking, Minho almost took him seriously. Too bad Jisung couldn’t stay in character for too long and proceeded to burst out laughing a few seconds later. Minho laughed along too.

They continued to share what things they’ve experienced by staying at the studios so late. Minho recollected the time another student thought he was a freeloader who slept at the studio and snuck into lectures (“You’d think people wouldn’t believe things in dramas could happen in real life.”), and Jisung returned with how his friends once had to come and physically drag him out of the studio (“It was three against one but I was winning, I still haven’t let them forget it.”).

Sooner than Minho would have liked, they arrived at the dorm buildings. They walked into the main lobby and Minho waited for Jisung to shake out his umbrella before making their way to the lifts. It was silent as they waited for the lift, the only sound coming from Jisung as he folded up his umbrella. They had a laugh in the lift when they realised their dorms were on the same level. Then it was quiet again. Minho didn’t want the night to end yet but he didn’t know how to keep it going either.

When they got to their level, Minho walked Jisung to his dorm. It was the least he could do since Jisung had walked him to the building while sharing his umbrella. Jisung looked at him questioningly when he did so but didn’t make a move to stop him. At his door, Jisung turned to face Minho and the two of them just stood there for a few seconds. Minho looked for something to say but Jisung beat him to it.

“So uh, can I have your number?” he asked, looking down at the ground shyly while one hand rubbed the back of his neck. “You know, in case you need me to rescue you again.”

He might have been shy at first but he said his next sentence while grinning cheekily at Minho.  For the second time that night, Minho raised an eyebrow at him. He handed over his phone and watched as Jisung entered in his number, then send himself a message so he had Minho’s. He returned the phone with a wide smile on his face, which made Minho smile back too as he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

“This is good night then,” sighed Minho. Jisung mumbled something in response but he hadn’t caught what it was. With a sigh of his own, Jisung opened the door to his dorm and walked it. He didn’t close it even as Minho walked away. Just before Minho turned the corridor to his own dorm, he looked back to see Jisung still watching him. Flustered, Jisung closed the door halfway, just enough to hide his body behind as he kept his head out. Minho chuckled and gave him a mock salute before continuing on his way.

Felix was still up when Minho got to their dorm. He looked up from the dining table in surprise when Minho came in. Minho didn’t find out whether it was because he was back earlier than usual or because he was barely wet when he got there, as he trudged into his room and fell onto his bed without closing the door properly.

The tiredness came over him like a huge wave, and he fell asleep not even a minute later.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so so sorry for not updating in almost 3 months >.<  
> A few days after I posted the first chapter my computer started to have issues, and I couldn't get it fixed until a weeks later. The whole thing kinda threw me off because I couldn't get this chapter written no matter what I tried. I even wrote it out on paper but still nothing, I've scrapped more drafts than I care to count.  
> I also started my school year in the middle of all this so I couldn't really focus on the story.  
> But here it is now!! I finally had a solid plan for this chapter and set aside time to write it. Hope you enjoy^^

Days went past and soon the weekend arrived. Minho found himself lying on one of the many grass patches around campus, soaking up the sunlight he'd been denied for the past few days. After  _that night_ , he had woken up with a splitting headache and a fever to match, despite not being in the rain at all. Minho was promptly parented by Chan, who took it upon himself to fuss all over him. Felix Helped by stopping Minho from going to the studio outside of their lesson time, and had the nerve to tell Minho "it's for your own good so there is no chance for you to run in the rain again and get even sicker." Which had to be a cruel joke since it hadn't rained since that night either.

Despite being annoyed about not being allowed to go to the studio at all, Minho was grateful his friends had taken the time to take care of him. They never left him on his own, going as far as to escort him between classes even if it meant they would have to rush to be on time for their own. And since there was always someone with him at any given moment, Minho never felt the need to look at his own phone.

Speaking of his phone, Minho decided to finally take it out and see if there was anything important. It was in his bag which sat by Felix, who was leaning against a nearby tree while the two of them waited for Chan and Changbin to arrive with lunch. Minho easily got Felix's attention, and soon enough his bag was thrown in his direction. He yelled at Felix to be more careful next time and received a stuck out tongue in response.

Turning his phone on, Minho was surprised by the lack of updates. There was nothing much different about it since the last time he took a look days ago. Nothing new on social media, reminders from the few games he played, or even notifications from apps he barely used. The only thing different was his messages.

At first, Minho assumed they were all from the group chat with his friends, but guilt blossomed when he realized who most of the messages were from.

_< < Umbrella Knight, Wednesday 00:36_  
Got back to your dorm safe?  
Maybe you're already sleeping  
Goodnight Minho

_10:08_  
Morning!!  
You haven't read my messages yet, hope you're ok  
This is Jisung btw  
Don't know what I was thinking with that contact name  
You can change it if you want to

_19:44_  
Sorry if I'm bothering you  
Will you be at the studio later?

_Thursday 12:36_  
Guess you were busy yesterday  
Maybe today then?

_20:17_  
I'm at the studio  
You know  
Just in case you stop by

_Friday 03:25_  
Did I do something wrong?

_11:45_  
Sorry!!!  
Didn't mean to send that to you  
It was late  
I must have tapped the wrong convo  
Sorry again

_15:42_  
I think I saw you just now  
But you were with friends  
So I didn't call out your name  
Didn't know if you would have wanted me to ether  
Are you ok?  
I'm kind of worried since you aren't responding  
Not that you need to or anything

_20:18_  
Hi  
At the studio again  
Just letting you know  
Saw a lot of dance majors when I walked by  
I could save you a studio  
Only if you're coming, of course

_23:19_  
Guess not then  
Maybe you'll be here for the weekend?  
Though it's been 3 days  
I'll stop disturbing you then

The more Minho read through the messages, the worse he felt. He hadn't thought to check for any messages from Jisung. Though it didn't mean he'd completely forgotten about him. Chan, Changbin and Felix might have assumed the reason Minho wanted to return to the studio so badly was to practice for his showcase, and although that was correct, it wasn't the full reason.

Minho wanted to see Jisung again. He hadn't found the time to tell his friends about Jisungm so he kept it all to himself. And since he didn't think Jisung would message him, he didn't think to message Jisung either. Clearly, Minho thought wrong. Based on the messages he did get from Jisung, it seemed like Minho had disappointed him. Yet Minho was unsure of how a response from him now would be taken.

Distracted by the internal conflict Minho was having with himself, it took him a while to realize Felix was calling his name. When he finally looked over he saw that Felix was talking to one of his fellow second-year dance majors. Hyunjin, Minho recognized. Slowly, he got up and made his way towards them.

"What’s up?" Minho asked as he got close.

"Hyunjin’s looking for his mentor, we were wondering if you might have an idea where he would be," Felix said. Minho turned to look at Hyunjin, who was looking at him hopefully.

"I’m not completely sure, but the fourth-years have a group dance at the upcoming showcase. Maybe check the dance faculty building since the only studios big enough for that many people are there," Minho suggested. 

"f that’s true then I’ll just look for Yugyeom later," Hyunjin sighed, then he looked questioningly at Minho. "Why aren’t you with them, then?"

"I’m one of the third-year mentors," he answered. Hyunjin’s lips formed an ‘o’ as he turned back to Felix.

"Right, I forgot you got one of the special mentors."

"Special mentors?" It was Minho’s turn to question, giving the two second-years a confused look.

"When we first came and were told about the mentor system, they explained about how there were not enough third-year students at the time and some of us would be getting special mentors instead," Felix explained. Minho nodded, following it so far but still confused as to why he was a ‘special mentor’. "They told us that the students with regular fourth-year mentors would leave first, and the last few students were the ones who were paired with special mentors. Then everybody started to leave one by one with their mentors when their name was called. Until there were only five of us left, that’s when they announced the special mentors were next."

"When I asked my mentor Yugyeom about it, he said you guys were special because you were only second-years," continued Hyunjin. "According to him the school used to pair up one mentor with two other students instead of one, but then some students found it unfair that they would be sharing a mentor with someone else so they changed the system."

Understanding washed over Minho, followed by a brief flash of annoyance. If the staff really felt it necessary to call him and the other mentors with the same situation as him 'special mentors' to make the second-years feel better then so be it. It was definitely preferable to admitting they had actually been the last pick.

"While I'd love to stay and continue chatting, Yugyeom isn't the only person I need to look for," announced Hyunjin, a defeated sigh leaving his lips as he did so. At this, Felix turned sympathetic, offering to help look after their lunch. Minho assumed they were talking about a mutual friend and gave them some privacy by looking around for Chan and Changbin. Those two really seemed to be taking their time. He turned his attention back to Felix and Hyunjin and took note of the very worried expression on Felix’s face.

"Even Jeongin never saw him around campus?" pressed Felix. Rubbing his face in frustration, Hyunjin shook his head.

"None of us has, and it’s been three days. He’s even ignoring all our messages. Seungmin says he’s barely at their dorm."

Immersed in their worry, neither of the second-years noticed Minho tense up.  _ Didn’t Jisung mention his roommate was named Seungmin? _

If Minho remembered correctly, and Hyunjin’s missing friend was, in fact, Jisung, maybe he should offer his help. Guilt rose up in him again when he glanced down at his phone. It hurt him to think that while he was unknowingly ignoring Jisung, Jisung himself was ignoring the rest of his friends. Would Hyunjin even believe him if he said he knew Jisung?

Chan and Changbin showed up only to see Felix and Hyunjin still deep in their conversation, and Minho staring at his phone gloomily. Noticing their presence, Minho tried to hide his emotions and directed their focus straight to Felix. Changbin might have taken the bait immediately, but Chan still shot Minho a look indicate a postponed questioning. Nothing could ever escape Chan’s observant eye.

After a brief explanation and introductions, Chan invited Hyunjin to join them for lunch. Initially, he refused but was quickly convinced that the meal could help them think up a clear plan of action. Hyunjin had been grateful when they offered to help without question, but they needed to know more than just the short explanation of "I’m worried about my friend who is avoiding seemingly everyone" to really be able to help. Yet Minho was scared to know more. No names were mentioned, but he knew it had to, it just had to be Jisung.

"So what can you tell us about him?" Chan asked once they all settled down.

"Well, his name is Han Jisung-"

_ I knew it. _

"He’s a second-year so his dorm is on the same floor as Felix and me-"

_ Damn it. _

"Majoring in music, so he’s in the studio building a lot-"

_ This is supposed to be new information. _

"Usually he’s very energetic and needs attention. Not clingy but he likes to always have someone with him unless he’s working and specifically asks us to leave him alone."

_ That hurt. _

There was a thoughtful look on Chan’s face as he processed what Hyunjin told them. "When you said he’s in the studio building a lot, do you mean during the day or mostly at night?"

Just like everything else Hyunjin said, Minho already knew what the answer night. And by Chan’s question, he knew what the follow up was.

"Maybe Minho has seen him around, he likes to spend nights at the studio building practising." There was no way to miss the reprimand in Chan’s tone, even though it wasn’t the main reason why he said that. Though before Minho could reply, Changbin beat him to it.

"According to what the kid says, his friend has been missing for the past few days. We’ve also been keeping Minho from going to the studio building for the past few days. There’s no way he could have seen him," he pointed out. While Changbin’s point was true, Minho had wanted to take it as an opportunity to mention that he did, in fact, see Jisung. On the day before he apparently ‘went missing’. And had a guilty-feeling that he was most likely the cause of it.

"Wait for a second," Felix suddenly exclaimed. "Didn’t Seungmin say he heard Jisung talking with someone outside their dorm that night before?"

"That’s true…" Hyunjin trailed, not seeing the point Felix tried to make.

"What if Jisung is just spending time with whoever that is? Maybe he doesn’t want us to know who it is yet." At Felix’s insinuation, Hyunjin visibly deflated.

"Why would he hide it from us?" Hyunjin asked to no one in particular. "I’m his best friend...he would have at least mentioned something bu-"

"That’s not it," Minho blurted out. He’s been silent the whole time, so everyone turned to him in surprise. Especially Chan, who started to eye him suspiciously. Chewing on his lip, Minho tried to quickly think of how to explain things.

"I met him once," he started. "Based on what you’ve told us, it was the night before he started ignoring all of you."

Everyone was watching him intently.

"Jisung, he...I would have been stuck at the studio building all night if it wasn’t for him. He shared his umbrella with me and we talked the whole way back to the dorms. I walked him to his dorm before going back to mine. We exchanged numbers, didn’t want that talk to be a one-time thing you know. I really meant to contact him but since I got sick I never really found the need to look at my phone."

Hyunjin looked like he wanted to get angry, Minho would have preferred if he yelled instead of using the steady voice when he next spoke.

"You basically ignored all his messages, yes?"

Not trusting his voice, Minho just nodded. He didn’t dare look Hyunjin in the eye. Jisung was his best friend if anyone knew how hurt Jisung would be over what Minho had not meant to do - it would be Hyunjin. Without looking at his friends, he knew all three of them were shocked too. Felix probably felt a little hurt too since he was at least acquaintances with Jisung.

A frustrated sigh escaped Hyunjin.

"I need to tell Seungmin and Jeongin about this," he announced as he stood up from the ground. Minho tried to gather up the courage to give Hyunjin an apologetic smile, only to be met with his steely gaze when they made eye contact.

"Jisung has been ignoring all of his friends because of you and will continue to do so until we corner him. You’re the reason for this, even if it was unintentional. I hate to admit that you are also the only one who has a chance to get a reply from Jisung if we don’t find him first."


	3. not an update

Sorry to disappoint but this isn't an update to the story. It's been months since I last updated and to tell you the truth, months since I last wrote anything for this either. I do have a clear idea of where I want this story to go and believe me when I say that my notes are probably enough to complete this but life just got in the way. Not just family or school but I had a substantial number of personal things to work through that I had to do on my own.

And in all honesty, 'writing' this story was my coping mechanism. I didn't realise at first that my plans for this story were mirroring what I was experiencing in real life. But the more I fleshed out the story without actually writing it, the more I understood myself. In a way, the planning process made it possible for me to take a step back and assess my situation better, by pretending I was in no way involved in it. I've spent the last few months battling this and now that I'm finally at a place where I'm mostly at peace, I think I can finally continue on.

What I'm saying is that I've finally got myself in check, and I'm sorry that it took me away from continuing this story. There aren't many people that have read yet but I still want to get this story out there. After what I've gone through, I'm making the decision to re-work my plan for this story.

But until then I'll leave the original 2 chapters up for now.

Thank you to anyone who read when I first uploaded and came back to see this. I promise I'll have a proper update as soon as possible!!


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